Some weeks ago, I posted a Diary,
The Abramoff 64 + 34 Competitive Races = BIG GOP Trouble.
At the time I feared that I was missing somebody.
I was.
I forgot Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Now it is The Abramoff 65.
Turns out that Abramoff billed the Mariana Islands for two meetings with little Ricky in 1996, then his team billed the CNMI for an event, hosted by Santorum's PAC just before the 1996 GOP convention. This was the meeting where Team Abramoff introduced the sweatshop owners to the Republican Conservatives. Attending for the Tan Family was Willie Tan, Ben Fitial and Eloy Inos. And as a gesture of gratitude, the sweatshop owner's of Saipan gave Santorum's PAC a $10,000 donation.
That gets little Ricky on the list. Please join me on the jump for more details...
1996 was a critical year for Team Abramoff. The GOP had taken control of Congress in 1995. Now, they had the rest of Washington in their sights. And Jack Abramoff would be the point of the spear for
The K Street Project.
The goal was to turn K Street into a GOP fundraising and patronage machine. To be successful, they needed to show that the rules had changed and to intimidate associations and lobbyist to change their giving and staffing patterns. They would also need a star, somebody to quickly rack up massive piles of cash from new clients and the power money brings in DC and somebody with the movement chops to attract and train GOP Congressional aides to take the new K Street positions the project would force open.
In 1995 Jack signed up clients who were dependent upon the Federal government: Indian Casinos and the CNMI. In 1996 Jack was trying to get the Republican controlled House and Senate to support his efforts to extort payments from the Tribes and to protect a system of sweatshops, human trafficking, force prostitution and forced abortion on the Commonwealth of North Mariana Islands (CNMI).
He needed Conservatives to buy into these efforts as examples of core conservative values. To run this scam he needed inside help. And the help was there.
From the beginning, Jack could count on the support of Grover Norquist, Ralph Reed, Ed Buckham and (of course) Tom DeLay.
And Jack could count on a small group of Congressional staffers, Congressmen, Congresswomen and a Senator from Pennsylvania to open doors and help build support for Abramoff and his clients.
In November of 2001 the CNMI Office of Public Auditor (OPA) conducted an audit of all the lobbying expenses that the CNMI government paid for between 1994 and the end of 2001. To complete that audit they collected a number of e-mails, faxes and invoices from Jack Abramoff. The invoices for July and August 1996 detail the Abramoff/Santorum connection (emphasis added):
07/19/1996 Jack Abramoff 2.50 hrs
Meeting with Senator Santorum; discussion with D. Lapin; discussion with L. Latourette; discussion with D. Stephens; discussion with B. Myhre; discussion with P. Pizzella; review of email from M. Broadhurst; review of materials; preparation of faxes to B. Tenorio.
07/25/1996 Jack Abramoff 5.30 hrs
Discussion with D. Stephens; discussion with B. Myhre; discussion with D. Lapin; discussion with A. Zwany; discussion with A. Messing; discussion with M. Pack; discussion with L. Latourette; discussion with Congressman Funderburk; discussion with Senator Santorum; discussion with P. Pizzella; discussion with E. Buckham (DeLay); discussion with A. Lassiter (DeLay); review of materials; preparation of faxes for B. Tenorio; preparation of fax for Governor Tenorio; discussion with L. Meeds
08/11/1996 Patrick Pizzella 4.30 hrs
Participate in event sponsored by Sen. Santorums "FIGHT PAC" with W. Tan, E. Inos, B. Fitial and Senator Jim Jeffords(R-VT); follow up luncheon/discussion with staff director of Senate Energy committee--G. Renkes; introduction of B. Fitial to Cong. Dan Burton (R-IN).
Now the Santorum event was a 1996 Republican Convention kick-off event. And Rick worked with Jack to use the event as a way for the people behind the system of abuse on CNMI to meet and greet the GOP elite. Willie Tan came to the party with his two key aides, Eloy Inos and Ben Fitial (who became Speaker of the CNMI House of Representatives in 2000 thanks to bribes paid by Team Abramoff). The event was a Team Abramoff success and protecting the system of abuse on the CNMI became part of the GOP agenda:
08/13/1996 Jack Abramoff 4.00 hrs
Meetings at the Republican National Convention regarding Congressional Conservative movement and Republican Party support for CNMI.
08/14/1996 Jack Abramoff 4.00 hrs
Meetings at the Republican National Convention regarding Congressional Conservative movement and Republican Party support for CNMI.
And Rick Santorum was paid for his effort to help Jack and his sweatshop owning clients:
PANGELINAN, JOHN
SIAPAN,MP 96950
ATTORNEY
8/5/1996
$5,000
Fight-PAC
PANGELINAN, JOHN
SAIPAN,ZZ
EXECUTIVE
9/14/1996
$5,000
Fight-PAC
John Pangelinan is a Tan Family employee. He is the publisher of the Tan Family newspaper, the Saipan Tribune. He also owned a local club/café on CNMI. According to the Washington Post, Pangelinan was a pass through for donations from the Tan Family to US politicians (this is the bizarre story of Abramoff sending funds to a Maryland County Executive in the hopes of getting a school building turned over to the Yeshiva of Greater Washington).
There is no doubt that his payments to Santorum were directed by Willie Tan and Jack Abramoff.
And I am sure that there are more connections between Jack and Rick. After all, they were both key players in the The K Street Project.
Rick Santorum brings the list of Abramoff connected Republican candidates in this cycle to 65.
The upcoming Bill Moyers PBS documentary Capital Crimes lays out the case against Jack Abramoff, the K Street Project and the Republican Party. It will remind folks about the Culture of Corruption. It creates a great opportunity for fundraising viewing parties everywhere. I've seen it and it is very good. It lays out a damning case, including the work done to protect the abuse on CNMI. It will be shown on Oct. 4th and we should be promoting this program everywhere.
The Democrats opposing the Republicans who made the cut to be part of the Abramoff 65 should pick up on this issue.
I hope that they will follow the examples of Charlie Brown's DoolittleFacts.org and Glenn Melancon's Ralph Hall of Shame and use the crimes of CNMI as a tool to hold these weasels accountable.
It is a simple one-two punch:
1. The situation on CNMI was and is inhuman, corrupt, unAmerican and unChristian.
2. ______ actively worked with Jack Abramoff to fund and protect this system of abuse.
The Abramoff 65 is listed in the Tip Jar. Find a Democrat to support. Donate before September 30. And then send more in October. Volunteer. Get involved in the GOTV effort.
Unless we double our efforts and fight like hell, the GOP may win on November. We have to bring the fight to them everywhere.
Please do what you can. And then do some more. To win we need your time, money and energy. We need to fight hard and fight smart.
2006 is now. It is way past time to take our Country back.
Let's do this.
UPDATE:
Follow this link to see the Santorum and Abramoff billing records
And here they are: